URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2019_Melissa-McCarthy

From the Vice President

A good friend of mine recently suggested a book authored by the British-American theoretical physicist, Professor Freeman Dyson (b. 1923). Dyson, who is now a professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton University, is not only one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, but he also is highly regarded as a “futurist” along the lines of H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Marshall McLuhan and James Lovelock. In 1997, Dyson published a thin book of essays, entitled Imagined Worlds (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, Inc.), in which he speculates about the future of science, technology and its impact on human civilization. Although the book was published more than 22 years ago, I would highly recommend it as being both prescient for its time and thought-provoking with respect to our own future path.

In one of his essays for Imagined Worlds, Dyson reflects on his experience as a scientist for the Royal Air Force during World War II, and he fondly remembers his chief (that is, his research assistant), Mr. Reuben Smeed. Dyson attributes to his chief the origin of “Smeed’s Rule,” which states that “You can either get something done or get the credit for it, but not both.” That passage stuck with me, and I started to reflect on my own career path – and how my personal success as a scientist has been utterly dependent on the dedication, enthusiasm, creativity and intelligence of my own graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and – perhaps most importantly – several research assistants whom I have been fortunate to have included in my research group over the years. Even more than my students, my research assistants have been the glue that has bound my lab group and work together, particularly during the conduct of complex clinical trials. One or more of these individuals may read this essay and will know that I am referring to them; and they are already aware that I credit my own career success in good measure to their hard work. Our research assistants, technicians and lab managers are singularly important to the success of any significant research group, regardless of whether the field of study resides within the STEM sciences, in the creative arts (e.g., a props manager for Theatre, or a stage manager for Orchestra), or in the social sciences. In this issue of Momentum, we take the opportunity to celebrate and thank the many, many individuals at URI who “get stuff done” in our laboratories, in our studios, on our vessels, in field work internationally, on our stages and in our core facilities. In this article, you will read about some remarkably talented individuals, and we hope you will appreciate that we could only highlight a few as being representative of so many others whom we depend on every day and all over the world. Wherever URI faculty researchers are pushing the boundaries of knowledge and expertise in their respective fields of study, and “getting the credit for it,” we are relying on our partners – whom we tend to develop very long-lasting and close personal and professional relationships with – to allow us to shine.

Peter J. Snyder, Ph.D. Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Art and Art History, University of Rhode Island Scholar-in-Residence, Rhode Island School of Design

Spring 2019 | 3 |